Explore the best rated trails in Grand Rapids, MI, whether you're looking for an easy walking trail or a bike trail like the Fred Meijer Flat River Trail and Fred Meijer Flat River Valley Rail Trail . With more than 43 trails covering 758 miles you're bound to find a perfect trail for you. Click on any trail below to find trail descriptions, trail maps, photos, and reviews.
The parts of the trail not on Ravine Rd seem great. Sure, the downtown route is a bit tricky but they have center lines to mark the bike path now along arcadia creek and the festival site, etc. My real complaint is they were not able to find a solution for nearly a couple of miles along Ravine Rd, other than a small segment on the property of Kalamazoo Public School Transportation, where someone on inline skates or a small bike could enjoy a small break from a narrow bike lane. Is that what they hoped they would be able to do all along that side, but only the Kalamazoo owned public transportation would agree to it, and the rest, you have to use a fairly narrow bike lane. The exception is that the last quarter mile or so, on the south side of Ravine before Douglas Ave, there is a really nice bike lane, with extra shoulder on the right of it. Why couldn't that have been extended further up? I have even used that against traffic when coming back before crossing over to the right side of the rd, because it is such a wider area than the bike lane on the north side of Ravine at that point. After all this time, it would have been nice if they found some options to improve that segment. The rest of it, I really like though!
Love that this trail is close to home for me. It’s a little bumpy in places but my husband and I really enjoy it.
I don't know why it's called the River Valley trail since most of it goes right next to the highway, with only occasional views of a river and no valley to be seen. We rode 20 miles starting in Galesburg. The first couple of miles were scenic, through a wooded area but the next 10 miles were along the highway - BORING AND UGLY. When we got to Kalamazoo, we found several detours because of unsafe bridges. That forced us to cross busy highways. While the trail surface was mostly good, the location of the trail was terrible.
Nice, straight trail. Plenty of places for parking and amenities in each town. I wish it were paved all the way through, but in general the crushed limestone isn't a huge obstacle between towns. Highly recommend!
The scenery for the waterfront portion is breathtaking but be cautious when going down the pier as water can potentially knock you over into the water.
As you get to N 3rd Street, the waterfront disappears completely and turns into a bland urban setting, so unless you're have OCD about completing the full trail (like me), you might want to stay by the water entirely.
The trail gets pretty unimpressive in its final segment, with the asphalt being very rough.
I assume the pavement by the waterfront is smooth but since it's buried under a foot of sand, it's hard to tell, lol.
TL:DR, stick to the waterfront portion for max enjoyment.
This trail is a bit hilly so you might want to keep your bike in a low gear for the duration. To off set this the entire trail is perfectly smooth.
Animal farms are present throughout the trail so the smell of dung is a possibility.
Car traffic is also a regular presence you have to put up with.
Blind, tight curves also are a common feature, so keep your wits about you.
But all in all, I thought this was a good trail, and recommend it to anyone interested.
Too bumpy between GR and Belmont for a road bike. Not enjoyable. North of Belmont is great!
We road this trail in October for the leaf viewing. Wonderful! MI trails never disappoint It was a cool day, with people on the trail. The trails are within a park system so I could see it being very busy during the summer season We found the section at Johnson Park (where we parked) to be exciting with its hills and dense woods. As seniors, we bit the bullet and went e-bikes this year, wouldn’t have enjoyed those hills as much if hadn’t.
First I could not find where the trail started at south end. The trail was not marked very well. Some of it had a gorgeous view. Most of it factory or homes.
Rode 7.5 miles north from montague fishing park then back. Only a few curves. Great smooth pavement. Not very busy.
The trail is paved and mostly flat. Lots of trees and birds. The trail is not busy but there are friendly bikers and walkers along the way.
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